I am about to purchase a bolt-in cam for my 1995 flstn. I was looking at the SE-3 and SE-4 cams, and also noticed many folks are running with the Andrews EV-13 or EV-27 cams. The thing that is steering me away from non-SE cams is the various posts I've read about having to swap out the cam gear to prevent noise and properly shim the new cam. I would expect that an SE cam would bolt-in without any of those requirements. This is my first time doing a cam, so bear with me. I have done my homework, reading the HD shop manual and http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/hdcaminstall00.htm. My thought is simply, I'd prefer something that is truly bolt-in, rather than shimming and swapping, etc. I was hoping some experienced folks could provide some feedback on this.
Thanks in advance
-squidman

 

Even the SE cams may require shimming. you will not know for sure until you ck.

the Head-quarters cams may be worth a look too! Ive never owned an EVO, but I have ridden a coulpe of stock ones and they are very low on power for sure!

I bought a V-thunder cam for my dads FL and it helped a lot.

 

EV-27, hands down!!! Monster oull from idle to 4K, great roll on from 70 mph....best of them all.

 

Cam fittment is required to get the proper clearance with the cam installed. Slight differences in manufacture of engine cases, cam cover, bushing fit and the cam itself will cause a "tolerance stackup" that can lead to too much or too little end play once all are assembled. Your manual shows a procedure for measuring end play and how to use spacers to achieve theright amountof play. This is required with any cam change reguardless of the manufacturer. Attention to detail at this point will pay off in best longevity for your valve train. Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the great info! Any input on whether or not its necessary to pull the gear from the stock cam and put it on the new cam? And, sorry for my ignorance here, but what is the process for swapping those out?

 

Most cam manufacturers offer the cams with gear installed, for special cam timing you can get the parts seperate and adjust cam timing that way. Not often required for a simple cam swap.

 

DeJavu, the impression I got was that some folks choose to swap the gear out from the new cam with the stock gear, so they mate nicely with the pinion and breather gears and eliminate potential for unwanted noise.

 

That might be a consideration, however aligning the gear/cam must be done precisely and properly or you will have more than a little gear noise to worry about. I have not gotten into that operation and would leave it to a good shop rather than attempt it myself. It's nota just hammer it on type thing. I believe the procedurewill be outlined in your manual. Give it a go, and good luck!

 

This procedure is for gear fitment, not only do you need to shim the cam for end play the gear lash needs to be done if your going to do the job correctly. Most people just through a cam in and forget it, but there is SO much more to do to get all the performance out of that cam selection you made.
The pinion shaft gear and cam gears come in five sizes each, (if memory serves), these gears are color coded for easy identification and easly recgonized what color goes with what color listed as a color coded chart in the manual. If a set of gears are too tight they will whine, if they are too loose they will sound like four bad lifters clattering away.
By pressing of the stock gear and installing it on the aftermarket cam stick you eliminate all the hassle of gear fitment....belive me it's a hassle. BUT......if you press off the stock gear and install it on the new cam you better know what your doing. First off you have to mark the stock gear with two reference marks and press it on the new cam aligning these reference marks to the cams reference marks. Now the question is did you get it in the right spot because if your more than 4* off in either direction the cam will not perform as it was designed to perform.
A degree wheel and dial indicator will will be needed to assure you have the lobe center set correctly, again this is a very advanced builder step, but very important for optimum performance in a EVO or Shovel Head.
I personally 'degree'every EVO cam I install because in all reality 90% of them are off lobe center coming out of the box....if your advanced on cam timing you will have more power early in the rpm range and if your retarded in cam timing the power will be up top but if your set on the lobe center yourstraight up as the cam was intended to be used. Now thats not to say advancing or retarding cam timing is wrong...on the contrary, if you have a heavy bagger advancing cam timing by 2 to 4* you will get much more power of the line to get that baby rolling and vice versa...if you have a light bike and you are a twister then by all means retard the timing 2 to 4* for top end power.

I don't mean to scare you off from installing a cam....like I said most people just take it out of the box and through it in, a good builder willgo through all the steps to assure the cam is truly set up correctly.

By the way most aftermarket cams are .050 shorter than the stock cam stick....even SE cams. I agree,.. the 27 is a GREAT cam for the EVO......much better than the SE 3 or 4

 

Was hoping someone who knew what it was all about would post. I knew there was a lot more to it. Thanks for the straight poop. I love learning something new!